Article 5 – Membership

5.1. The minimum number of associates cannot be inferior to 3. The members of the Association are the institutions here below, respectively their representatives. see annex 5.1.1.

5.2. In addition to the founder members, membership of the Association is also open to individuals and legal entities interested in the objectives of the Association, with the status of individual, honorary or professional members, and, with the status of active or observer members, to representatives of state Hotel and/ or Tourism schools, as well as to any other Hotel and/or Tourism training establishment whose application is provisionally proposed by the Executive Board member of the country concerned.

If this country does not yet have a representative within the Executive Board, or in case of a vacancy to this post, the application can provisionally be received by the Executive Board.

The Association’s Presidium or Head Office may also receive applications for individual, honorary, observer or professional membership from individuals and corporate bodies who are interested in the Association’s objectives and who subscribe entirely to these aims.

Article 6 – Subscriptions

The General Assembly fixes the entrance fee and the annual subscription rate, which is set according to the category of membership (active, observer, individual, honorary or professional members). This subscription is payable in the month of admission to membership of the Association, in subsequent years the subscription is payable from January and by July 15th of each year at the latest. Its amount cannot exceed 1,000.00 EUROS.

In addition, the General Assembly fixes the amount of the entrance fee, payable once by new members, which will be not less than 150 .00 EUROS for active, observer and professional members.

Article 7 – Admissions

A decision of whether or not to accept applicants as active, observer, individual , honorary or professional members is definitively taken by the General Assembly.

Article 8 – Resignations and Exclusions

Membership can be forfeited:

• by resignation, sent by written mail to the President of the Association;
• by exclusion, pronounced by the General Assembly, for behaviour bringing the Association into disrepute. The Executive Board will warn the members concerned of the measure proposed, and ask them to provide explanations for their actions;
• by automatic exclusion brought about by failure to pay 2 consecutive annual subscriptions by the time of the General Assembly of the year in question.

After a period of two years as from the date of exclusion, a member who has been excluded from the Association can be readmitted as a new member in accordance with the provisions of articles 5.2, 6 and 7.

Article 9 – Executive Board

The Association is run by an Executive Board consisting of an elected member from each of the countries (which are members of the Council of Europe) represented in the Association, there will be one member per country. The organisation of the designating procedures is laid down in the “Rules and Regulations”. The period of office of members of the Executive Board shall be four years. Outgoing members may be re-elected. The status of active member is assigned to the post occupied within a hotel and/or tourism school and not to the person who occupies that post at a given moment.

If the office of Executive Board member becomes vacant, the Executive Board invites the country concerned to appoint provisionally a replacement. This replacement will only be member of the Executive Board for as long as the predecessor’s period of office was due.

Article 10 – The Role of the Executive Board

The Executive Board defines the Association’s general policy and the means of implementing this policy.

The Executive Board normally meets twice a year; the meetings are called by the President or at the request of at least half of the members, and more generally, as often as the Association’s best interests require.

The meetings are quorate only if a majority of the Executive Board members ar e present or properly represented. Any member who is unable to attend a meeting can give power of attorney to another member of the Executive Board, who then has the right to vote in the name of the absent member. This right of attorney must be in writing, and expressly given for each meeting.

However, each member present is entitled to only one such proxy vote. If the quorum is not reached, and if at a second meeting, called at least three days after the first meeting, there are still insufficient members present, this second meeting is deemed to be valid,
however many members are present or represented.

Decisions of the Executive Board are by a m ajority vote of members present or represented. In the case of a tied vote, the President has the casting vote.

Minutes are written after every meeting. These minutes are signed by the President and the Secretary General.

The members of the Executive Board may receive no remuneration for the tasks which are entrusted to them. However, according to the Rules and Regulations (see article 11) they may be reimbursed, at least in part, for their expenses upon presentation of receipts.

Article 11 – Powers of the Executive Board

The Executive Board is invested with the most extensive powers, within the limits of the objectives of the Association and insofar as they relate to the resolutions passed by the General Assembly. It can authorize any actions or proceeding s relative to the Association which are not the preserve of the Ordinary or Extraordinary Assembly.

• The Executive Board monitors the activities of the Presidium, and is always entitled to ask the Presidium to justify its actions. In cases of serious misconduct the board may suspend members of the Presidium.
• The Board can open any bank accounts, post -office giro accounts or accounts with any other credit company; it can allocate any funds, raise any mortgages or other loans up to EURO 5.000,- (five thousand), request any subsidies and call for any relevant registration and transcription.
• The Board authorizes the Presi dent and the Treasurer to carry out any actions, purchases, transfers and investments deemed to be necessary in respect of the property and assets belonging to the Association; and to enter into the deals and contracts necessary to the pursuit of the Board’s objectives.
• The Board appoints the Association’s staff and decides the amount of their pay.
• The Board may delegate part or all of its powers to the Presidium or to certain of its members.

Article 12 – The Presidium

The Executive Board elects a Presidium, consisting of 1 President and 5 Vice-Presidents, for a period of four years. The President and the 5 Vice-Presidents must be elected from among the members of the Executive Board. The fifth Vice -President’s seat is automatically allocated to the outgoing President of the Association if he or she is re-elected as member of the Executive Board. The President cannot be re-elected for a second term immediately after the first.

An extra Vice-President may be added to the Presidium in exceptional cases, that’s to say if a country is member of the Council of Europe and has a potential of over 100 members as stated in Article 5, the National Represen tative of this country is invited to apply for a position as Vice- President in the Presidium every time elections are organized (Article 9). This extra position is generated if the following requirements are met:

• The potential number of members is presente d by the National Representative to and verified and approved by the Presidium between two and three months before the elections (Article 9);
• 60% of the potential number of members are active member of the AEHT, who have paid their membership fee. This should be the state of affairs two months before the elections (Article 9). The state of the payments must be checked and reported by the Treasurer within the same timeframe.
• If, at the start of the elections (Article 9), there are more than five candidacies for the post of (Vice-) President of the Presidium.
• Since the function of Presidium member is attached to a person and not to the school which he or she represents, the Executive Board must proceed to a new election in case of a vacancy within the Presidium.

The Presidium can engage the services of a Treasurer, a Secretary General and a Translator/Interpreter, who work with the Presidium, but are not entitled to vote. They are appointed by the Executive Board.

The Secretary General must undertake to carry o ut his or her duties in the Association’s head office.

If necessary, the Presidium may co-opt experts to the Presidium and entrust specific tasks to them.

The Presidium of the Executive Board is specifically given the following functions:

• The President chairs the meetings of the Executive Board and ensures the smooth running of the Association; he or she is the Association’s legal representative, and represents it in all circumstances. He or she may delegate all or part of his/her responsibilities to one or several members of the Presidium.
• The Secretary General is responsible for all admini strative aspects of running the Association, especially for sending out the various invitations to meetings. He or she takes the minutes of the meetings of both the Executive Board and the General Assemblies, and writes them up in the minute book provided for this purpose.
• The Treasurer keeps the Association’s accounts. He or she is helped in the task by any accountants deemed necessary. He or she keeps a regular record of all financial operations, both income and expenditure, and makes a report to the Annual General Assembly which approves (or rejects) the report.
• The members elected of the Presidium, like the members of the Executive Board, cannot receive remunerations for the tasks which are entrusted to them. They may, however, be reimbursed for their expenses, supported by receipts, in accordance with the Rules and Regulations.
• The title ‘Honorary’ may be conferred by the Executive Board on any outgoing member of the Presidium, and on any other person who can claim a special contribution to the Association.

Article 13 – The General Assembly of Members

The Association’s General Assembly consists of the active members. Observer, individual, honorary and professional members are invited to participate in the proceedings in an advisory (but non-voting) capacity.

The General Assembly meets at least once a y ear, and every time a meeting is called for by the Executive Board or upon a request by half of the paid -up members. The invitation to this meeting must normally be made by letter or by electronic mail individually addressed to each member, and sent out with at least a month’s notice for the Ordinary General Meeting, and with two weeks’ notice for the Extraordinary General Meeting. In emergencies, the meeting can be called for in any other way.

Decisions are taken at the General Assembly by a majority vote of the members present or represented. Blank or spoiled voting slips do not count. In the case of a tied vote, the President has the casting vote.

Any member who is unable to attend a meeting may give a pro xy vote to another active member from the same country, entitling the latter to vote in his or her name. This power of attorney must be given in writing, expressly for each meeting. Each member present is entitled to only one proxy vote.

The minutes of each meeting are taken, and are signed by the President and the Secretary.

The agenda is set by the Presidium.

Items proposed by a member cannot be put on the agenda unless the Executive Board has received them in writing before the date of the meeting of the General Assembly.

The General Assembly receives t he Activities Report and the Financial Report, and discusses them. It approves the accounts of the previous financial year, and discusses the items on the agenda. It appoints an Auditing Committee and two Auditors who should not be members of the Association.

The General Assembly meets as an Extraordinary General Assembly in the cases set out in Section IV of the statutes.

Article 14 – Special Committees

The General Assembly may set up and dissolve special ised committees and study groups. These specialised committees may co-opt suitably qualified persons as consultants. The committees are chaired by the President or by a member of the Executive Board.

Article 15 – Resources and Financing

The Association’s resources consist of :

• income from its assets and activities,
• subscriptions and contributions from its members,
• subsidies,
• the results of acts of liberality, gifts and bequests,
• specifically created resources, if necessary with the agreement of the proper authorities,
• in general terms, any payment made to the Association as part of its training activities, and intended to contribute to the achievement of the objectives set out in Article 3,
• contributions from members of the Association, as laid down by the General Assembly.

Article 16 – Bookkeeping

Income and expenditure is systematically logged, and if necessary records are kept of purchases and sales, by the treasurer.

Article 17 – Liability

Claim can be made only against the assets of the Association , and no member of the Association, even one of its officers, can be held personally liable for the Association’s commitments.

Article 18 – Modification of the Statutes

The statutes of the Associatio n can be modified only by a proposal from the Executive Board or from the Presidium. The Extraordinary General Assembly, called to debate the proposed modifications, must consist of two thirds of the active members, either present or represented. Each member present can have only one properly drawn up proxy vote. If the meeting is inquorate, a second Extraordinary General Assembly is called within six weeks. This will be a valid meeting, whatever the number of active members present or represented. In either case, decisions on amendments of the Statutes are by a two-third majority vote of members present or represented.

Article 19 – Dissolution

The Extraordinary General Assembly meeting to decide on the dissolution of the Association, is called specifically for this purpose. It must consist of two thirds of the members, or their representatives. Each member present can have only one properly drawn up proxy vote. If the meeting is inquorate, a second Extraordinary General Assembly is called for within six weeks. This will be a valid meeting, whatever the number of active members present or represented.

In either case, dissolution can be decided on only by a majority vote of the members present or represented.

In the case of dissolution of the Association, the Extraordinary General Assembly appoints one or more liquidators to deal with the Association’s assets. Any remaining assets must be made over to one or more associations with similar objectives.

Article 20 – Formalities

The President must notify the Court in Diekirch of the following within three months after every

General Assembly:

• changes which have taken place in the membership of the Presidium,
• changes made to the statutes,
• move of the registered office,
• dissolution.

Article 21 – Rules and Regulations

A set of Rules and Regulations will be drawn up by the Presidium. It will be submitted for approval to the Executive Board and for adoption to the General Assembly. These Rules and Regulations are intended to deal with the various points not codified in the statutes, especially those concerning the practical day to day running of the Association’s activities.

Article 22 – French version

The French version alone of the statutes governs the operation of the Association.
This version of the Statutes came into force